Improvement in means and apparatus for joining telegraph-wires



R. E. HOUSE.

MEANS AND APPARATUS Fon JOINING TELEGRAPH WIRE. No.180,098.

Patented July 25` 1876.

wm A' MMM es, IZ v I fam? 76727' N.PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAFNERA WASHINGTON, D C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROYAL E. HOUSE, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR JOINING TELEGRAPH-W|RES.`

Specitication forming part of Letters Patent No. 180,098, dated July 25, 1876; application led October 21, 1874.

To all whom it. 'may concern Y Be it known that I, ROYAL E. HOUSE, o Binghamton, in the county of Broome and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Mode of Connecting the Ends of Telegraphic or other Electric Conductors; and I declare the following to be 'a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of-this specilication, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved joint-protector applied to the joint of a telegraplnwire.' Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Figs. and 4 are, respectively, an end and a side view of the plugs for closing the ends of the cylindrical case which surrounds the joint. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a machine for forcing the plugs into the ends ot' the cylindrical case. Fig. 6 is an end view thereof', and Fig. 7 is an edge view of one of the slotted wedges which are employed as a part of the machine, for forcing the plugs into the cylindrical case.

l Similar letters of reference in the accompanyin g drawings denote the same parts.

The present application is a division of an application for Letters Patent of the United States led by me June 17, 1870.

The ordinary mode of connecting the sepaA rate pieces which constitute a telegraph-wire has heretofore consisted in knotting or twisting them together, either with or without a covering of solder. In consequence ot' the rusting of the joints, which are sometimes necessarily made when the wire has been broken and mended under circumstances unfavorable for soldering, as during a storm and before the line is worn out by use, an increased amount of electrical conducting-resistance is in a metal or other suitable protecting-case, adapted to inclose the joint, so as to exclude vmoisture and protect the joint from oxidation; secondly, in the mode or methodot' applying the protecting-case to the joint; and, thirdly, in the instrument by which the protecting-case is applied to the joint and rendered water-tigh t.

One mode ot'carryin g m yinvention into practice consists in providing an iron tube, A, ot' suicient size to slip easily over the joint after it is made, and having its ends beveled outward, as shown, to receive beveled or wedgeshaped plugs B. These plugs are formed ot' lead or other soft metal, or any equivalent materia-l, and are provided each with a central hole for the passage of the wires C G. In order to inclose the joint within the tube, one ot' the plugs is placed in the end ot' the latter,

` and one ofthe wires passed through the plug and tube, so that itsend shall protrude sut'ticiently for forming the joint. The other plug is strung upon the opposite wire, with its widest end outward, and the two ends of the wire are then twisted or knotted to form the.

joint. -When this is completed the tubeis moved along over the joint, and the loose plug forced into its end by suitable means. The

two soft-metal plugs, when they are set up to their places within the ends ofthe tube, form water-tight joints both around the wires and between the plugs and tube, and therefore prey vent the joint from oxidation by exposure to the weather.

Instead ot' soft-metal plugs for closing the ends ot' the tube, any suitable material may be employed that will exclude moisture from the joints.

To press the tapering plugs or Stoppers into the tube sufficiently for making water-tight joints, a small, light instrument, (shown in Figs. 6 and 7,) made of steel, may be employed.

The frame D of the instrumentis made in one piece with a central slot, E, two end slots,

F F, and two slots, G G, near the'ends, at

To press the plugs into the ends ot' the tubewith this instrument, the tube is placedin the central slot E, as shown in Fig. 6, the wires upon which the tube is mounted enteringthe slots of the die-holders laterally. The divided dies are then moved inward within the dieliolders, so that their ends shall bear. against the outer ends of the plugs. After this has been effected a slotted wedge, K, stra-(idling the wires, is driven, transversely of the frame D, through each ot' the slots Gr G, so as to force the dies inward against the plugs, and thus press the latter firmly within the ends of the tube, to form the water-tight connections above described.

To liberate the wire and joint'protector, the wedges are Withdrawn, the dies slipped outward endwise along the wire to clear the dieholders, and the frame removed from the wires, the latter passing through the slots I in the sides of the die-holders. i

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. A metal or other suitable protecting-case,

momes ladapted to inclose the joint of a telegraph- Wire, to prevent it from oxidation, substantially as described.

2. The metal or other suitable protectingtube inclosiug t-lie joint ot' a telegraph-Wire, and closed at the ends by suitable plugs or Stoppers, which form water-tight joints with the tube and around the wires, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. The mode or method ot' applying the protecting-case to the joints ot' telegraph-wires, substantially as described, for the purpose specied. t

4. The machine' or instrument for applying the protecting-case to the joints ot' telegraphwires, consisting ot' the slotted frame D, the

slotted die-holders H H, the divided dies J J, and the slotted wedges K K, substantially as described. l

ROYAL E. HOUSE.

Witnesses:

M. CHURCH, WM. H. MINNIX. 

